


To Touch The Stars

by alexisperno



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Childhood Friends, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-02
Updated: 2017-07-02
Packaged: 2018-11-22 12:32:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 972
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11380254
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/alexisperno/pseuds/alexisperno
Summary: [KLANCE CHILDHOOD AU]The wooden swing was heavy with memories like a tree heavy with fruit.A new memory was added that night.





	To Touch The Stars

The wooden bench of the rope swing had begun to splinter with age, but this new threat didn’t put a damper on the two young children’s eagerness. Squished tightly together on the old bench, sweating in the evening humidity, Lance beamed at the shy boy next to him.   
“Do you like it? I love this swing! Mama said Grandpa made this for her when she was my age, so now me and my future brothers and sisters get to play on it! But, I don’t think I’m gonna share. I like this swing too much, and I was born first, after all.” He tilted his head thoughtfully, and his lips turned into a frown. “Well… I’ll only share with you.”   
Grinning once again, Lance watched intently as Keith trailed his small hand down the frayed rope. Experimentally, he curled each of his fingers one-by-one around the coarse material, blinking curiously. The summer breeze lifted their hair like a ghost’s fond caress as Lance chattered on.   
“Yeah, just like that, Keithy! Sometimes, when it’s day out and Papa comes home early, he’ll push me super duper high- so high, I can almost touch the stars!” Lance’s chubby hands gestured happily as he spoke, and Keith’s keen eyes didn’t miss a single movement. “I always have to hold on reeeeally tight though, ‘cause I fell off once and scraped up my knee real bad! Mama wasn’t too happy with my Papa for that, but it’s okay! I’m super tough- I only cried a little bit!” With a toothy smile and a proud glint in his eyes, Lance put his fists on his hips. “Keithy! You think I’m tough too, right?”   
Keith blinked before swiftly nodding, his eyes wide and full of awe. Lance lit up, immediately squashing the smaller boy in a fierce hug. The rope of the swing dug into Keith’s pale arm as Lance embraced him, but he didn’t mind the dull ache. As long as he was in his best friend’s arms, he didn’t mind anything.   
“Thanks, Keithy!” Lance chirped before releasing him. “I now promise, since I’m the toughest person alive, to protect you- no matter what! Even when you move away, I’ll still find a way to save you because that’s what friends do, right? Here, I’ll even pinky promise!”   
Lance quickly extended his arm, his pinky half-curled and waiting. As Keith stared at Lance’s hand, absorbing his words, a spike of sadness drilled into him. The next morning, Keith and his father would be moving to a secluded home far away- far away from Lance. Who would help him make friends if Keith didn’t have his talkative neighbor anymore? What if they were mean to him at his new school? Lance never minded Keith’s quiet nature, and he was always there to confront any tormentors. More importantly, Keith wondered how he would stand not being able to see Lance’s eyes bursting with excitement or feel the warmth from his glowing smile. Whenever he was with Lance, he never wanted their time to end. To Keith, Lance was as radiant as the sun, and he gravitated to his light as diligently as a planet.   
Slowly, Keith wrapped his own pinky around Lance’s expectant one. He watched as Lance shook their conjoined hands vigorously, trying to suppress his rising sadness that threatened to spill over- but it was no use. Suddenly, it exploded like a geyser. Before Lance could react, Keith had buried his face in the tanned boy’s shirt, beginning to wet it with tears. Releasing Lance’s pinky only to cling at his hand, Keith clutched at Lance’s gray shirt with the desperation of a feral animal. The soft fabric grew damp, balled in Keith’s clammy hand.   
“I don’t wanna go! I wanna stay with you! You’re warm and safe and fun and make me happy! I don’t care about what my mom wanted to do before she left! I just wanna stay with you!! Don’t leave me like she did, Lance!!” Keith’s tiny body shook with sobs as Lance gently embraced him.   
“Keithy…” He softly breathed, his voice a sprinkle of sunlight drifting through the trees. “I made a pinky promise to you that I’d protect you, even if you’re far away. I don’t break promises, remember?” The cool breeze rustled the leaves of the oak above them. Lance kicked out his feet slightly, making the wooden swing, heavy with memories like a tree heavy with fruit, sway.  
“I won’t be next to you, sure, but I can still protect you. You’ll never have to worry if you have friends- you’ll always have me. I won’t ever forget you, Keithy. I like you too much.” Lance was smiling again as he squeezed Keith’s hand. “A circle is round, it has no end, that’s how long I want to be your friend.” Teary eyed, Keith looked up inquisitively from the comfort of Lance’s shirt.   
“My mama told me that one. She said to only share it with someone really special.” Lance leaned in closer, his grin revealing a few gaps that would eventually be filled in with teeth. “I decided that you’re really special. So when you feel sad that you’re away, just remember that I told you that, okay?”   
After a moment, Keith nodded reluctantly, releasing Lance’s shirt to messily wipe at his puffy eyes. With a worried expression that was replaced by a warm smile, Lance tightened his grip on Keith’s hand once more. “Say, Keithy? Wanna touch the stars with me? I promise I’ll only do it with you.”  
Keith ran his thumb along the back of Lance’s hand nervously. He gazed up with an almost nonexistent smile dancing at the edges of his lips. “You really promise?”   
Lance’s eyes held galaxies in their sparkle as they began to swing higher, hand in hand.   
“Pinky promise.”

**Author's Note:**

> Hello!! Thank you all so much for reading this! I apologize for the short length, but hey- every piece is a work in progress! I may add onto this later on, but for right now, this is the completed version!   
> Thank you all for supporting my other fic, Origins. No, it's not dead, and neither am I! I started my first year of high school so that's definitely kept me busy, but now that it's summer, that means lots and lots of writing!   
> If you're an Origins fan, don't fret! I am in the process of rewriting and editing the entire story. Thanks for sticking with me this far!   
> Once again, thank you all so much!   
> \- Alexis


End file.
